The continuation of our dream
by sibella.genis1
Summary: 21 years after Narako’s defeat, a demon war is starting to brew. Trying to protect his people, lord Satoru agrees to send the strongest priestess in his land to reseve the power of the gods from monks who have tamed it. On her journey, she meets the son of a certain half demon, who’s running from himself. Who is Kaname realy and why is she drawn to the quarter demon and his family.


Kaname takes her role as a priestess very seriously. Ever since she was a child, the priestesses of the shrine she grew up in had groomed her in preparation for a destiny she supposedly had. Day after day she would study and practice rituals in service of the goddess she honored, Amaterasu.

Although she studied constantly, she did have two friends. A fellow priestess, Misaki, and Nori. Nori had been her friend for many years and she cared about him. He had become a soldier for the lord of the land they lived on and she worried about him a lot. He could be very hot headed.

Although she didn't have much to do with it, since she wasn't an exorcist, demon attacks had become more frequent and she was so afraid that one day she would have to burry her friend.

Other than the reports of increased demon attacks, life in the village Kaname called home was peaceful. Bandits steered clear and the crops were fruitful. The people had much to be thankful for and they paid great homage to their lord. Taxes were dutifully paid without many complaints and every year on his birthday the citizens would gather at the temple for a full evening to thank the goddess for such a magnificent ruler.

On the day of one of these festivals, Kaname and Misaki were picking cherries under the orders of the head priestess. The head priestess wasn't there, because she had been called to the palace by the lord of the land. So naturally, Kaname and Misaki grew bored of the task rather quickly and decided to splash in the river.

"Misaki, don't splash at my hair! I just washed it this morning!" Kaname cried as she fended of the attack.

Misaki just giggled and continued to splash water in Kaname's face. Living in the same temple for sixteen years made them as close as siblings and they loved goofing around, since once they were full fledged priestesses there would be no time for it. Not that they neglected their studies of course.

Kaname was just about to splash back at Misaki when a snack demon came sliding out of the reeds. He was so fast that Misaki barely had time to react. It opened it's big mouth and attacked her. She got hold of a stick and kept it between them as they wrestled in the water. Kaname froze and didn't know what to do. She snapped out of it when Misaki started screaming. She shouted for help and grabbed hold of the demon's tail to get it's attention.

It worked and the demon raised itself up to her full hight and glared into her eyes. Kaname silently prayed, but knew she was done for. Then, out of nowhere, an arrow zipped past and impaled the demon's eyes. It shrieked and lunged at Kaname but a pair of strong hands got it by the head and yanked it away. Kaname stared at the armor-clad young man decapitating the demon with his sword.

"Nori!" Kaname cried out as tears of relief welled up in her eyes.

Nori looked up and gave her a smirk. "Kaname." he said, but then his face got serious " Are you alright? What about Misaki?"

Kaname looked over at her friend. She was soaked and breathing hard, but was otherwise unharmed. "We're fine." she said, helping Misaki to her feet.

The three of them stood on the riverbank and looked at the demon's remains. Then Misaki started crying and fell to her knees. Kaname kneeled at her side and tried to comfort her.

"It's alright. Your save now."

"I could have died!" she sobbed and looked up at Kaname. "Thank you."

Kaname smiled weakly. "Thank Nori. He's the one who saved us." She looked up at Nori and smiled appreciatively.

He tried not to look smug but failed miserably. "Well, this is what I train for."

Kaname started laughing and Misaki joined in. Nori blushed and straightened up. "I have to go and report this. You two should go back to the temple."

"We will." Kaname answered. Nori waited till they got their baskets and then they parted ways.

All the way to the temple, Kaname and Misaki were silent, lost in their own thoughts.

_Were did that demon come from?_ Kaname thought. She knew the demon attacks were getting more frequent, but they only happened on the outskirts of the land. Demon attacks had,years before, been almost unheard of so far Southwest and now they were unsafe at the edge of the village. _I better be more careful. I don't want Nori to put his life in danger on my account._

They had reached the gate to the temple grounds when Misaki turned to her with a sly grin.

"Nori sure came quickly when he heard you shouting, don't you think?"

Kaname looked at her friend, puzzled, but then laughed and gave her a shoulder bump. "Come on, we're just friends. Nether of us even considers that."

Misaki raised her eyebrows in disbelief and Kaname gave her another shoulder bump. Then they raced each other to the entrance of the temple.

The rest of their afternoon was spent making food for the evening's meal. They made mountains of rice and rivers of stew, but all that food would only delay the hunger of the many people who were coming to pray.

Kaname and Misaki were adding wood to the fires, when a priestess said that they were needed outside. When they came to the courtyard, Nori was there waiting for them.

He greeted them with his usual smile and gestured that they should hurry up.

"What's up Nori?" Kaname asked confused.

"I gave my report, but now the lord wants specific details from you two."

"You mean lord Satoru?" Misaki asked incredulously.

"Yes." Nori answered, smiling at their disbelief.

"Then we need to hurry!" Kaname said with glee.

In what seemed like no time at all, they were standing outside lord Satoru's counsel room. Nori knocked and a firm voice said "Enter!". Nori opened the door and motioned the two girls to go inside.

Kaname was relieved that she wasn't looking up at a man on a throne, but rather at a man sitting on a mat across from the head priestess. He was dressed in an impressive kimono and sat up straight and firm. But despite that, he looked very tired.

He motioned for them to sit, while Nori stood at the door. Misaki and Kaname took a deep bow and sat next to the head priestess.

"I called you here so you could answer a few questions regarding the incident this morning." lord Satoru said, looking firmly at Misaki and Kaname. They both nodded.

"Did either of you have direct contact with the beast." he asked. Misaki nodded.

"Did it seem starved or injured in any way?"

Misaki thought for a moment, then answered: "It did seem a little underfed, and it did have a lot of scars and open gashes. But I can't really be sure of it's condition. I've never been so close to one before."

"Did it attempt any communication?" he asked.

Misaki and Kaname both shook their heads.

"And you are sure that there were no other demons?" he asked finally.

They both shook their heads again. Even if they were preoccupied, they would probably have noticed another demon.

Lord Satoru closed his eyes and sighed. To Kaname, it looked like he would fall asleep any moment. But he opened his eyes and said they were dismissed.

As they approached the door however, lord Satoru called Kaname back.

"Miss Kaname, if you would please wait for a while. We need to speak to you privately." he turned to Nori and said "Please escort her to the room at the end of the hall. I will send for her when we are done. That is all."

Nori, Misaki and Kaname all bowed and then left the room. Nori and Misaki looked at Kaname nervously. At the door Misaki took her leave and Kaname and Nori headed down the hall. Nori looked over at her, curiosity evident in his eyes. "What do you think this is about?" he asked her.

"I don't know." Kaname answered. _What could lord Satoru want with me? _she thought. _I hope I'm not in trouble._

_*_

Satoru held his face in his hands and sighed. Although he had made sure he got at least some rest every night, he felt like he hadn't slept in days.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked the head priestess "She doesn't look very impressive."

The head priestess smiled and nodded her head. "She is the closest we have to the priestess he described. Granted, she doesn't look like much, but I wouldn't have suggested her if I wasn't sure." She stopped smiling and looked at lord Satoru "Now are **you **sure about this? I don't trust the situation at all. What those priests are trying to do..."

"I don't think we have a choice." lord Satoru answered. "If the situation is as dire as we fear, we are going to need all the power we can get."

The head priestess sighed and looked over at the tired man sitting across from her. "Well," she said "if we are going to go through with this, Kaname is our best option. All she needs now is resolve."

"Then I'll send for her." lord Satoru said as he got to his feet. He gave an order to a guard outside the door and then reclaimed his seat to wait.

When the guard came to get her, Kaname was very nervous. She couldn't think of a scenario where this ended well for her.

When she re-entered the room, lord Satoru gave her his undivided attention. But the head priestess just sat with a neutral expression, that gave nothing away. Kaname took her seat next to the head priestess after she bowed and then lowered her head, awaiting judgment.

"I'm sure you're wondering what this is all about. And no, you are not being punished for anything."

At those words, Kaname lifted her head and beamed. Lord Satoru couldn't help but smile.

Kaname was so relieved. She could have jumped up and danced. But she didn't think it would have been appropriate. Now she allowed herself to get curious. What could lord Satoru want with her if not to punish her.

"The head priestess has told me that you have great spiritual power."

Kaname was surprised at this. She had learned to use bits of her spiritual power, but she didn't know the head priestess thought so highly of her's.

"I wouldn't say that my lord." Kaname said hesitantly "I've only just begun to use it in ceremonies."

"Nonsense" the head priestess said "You have spiritual power greater than any other priestess I've met before. In fact, as I have explained to lord Satoru, I can compare your power to only one other priestess."

"My lady?" Kaname asked confused. She had never heard the head priestess speak so highly of her before. She was unsure of were the conversation was going.

"Before we continue this train of thought, let me explain the situation to you." lord Satoru said.

Kaname nodded and decided to listen.

"Now" lord Satoru continued "This morning a messenger arrived at the palace looking very tired and disoriented. He said that he had come from far to the North to over a solution to the demon problem we have experienced.

"Naturally I decided to hear him out, as I have been plagued by that problem for a long time now. As you have probably heard, demon attacks have been more frequent and we are unprepared to deal with them. He explained that the increase in demon activity, was because of a demon war farther North. This troubled me greatly, because the bloodshed among demons would result in more villages being slaughtered, even here in our peaceful part of the country.

"He continued to explain that a group of monks in the North in service of the great lady of the son, Amaterasu, had, through extensive meditation, found a way to harness the power of the gods. In these times of uncertainty they have decided to indeed go through with the ceremony.

"He continued to say that the monks would,after the power was attained, visit the entire county to protect them and if need be destroy all demons.

"Naturally, I grew suspicious of his rosy tale, and asked what the monks would expect us to do. Then he gave me a letter, describing the help they required.

"I gave the lad a bed to rest in and then called for the head priestess to discuss the letter."

Lord Satoru picked up a letter, skipped the introduction and started to read it. "Although the messenger is trustworthy, this information is very sensitive. For the ceremony, we require a priestess of great skill and unshakable resolve. She must have unrelenting faith in the great goddess and must desire to serve her by any means. Another factor is that she must have spiritual power comparable to the great lady Kikio. In the North there were two priestesses who could have fore filled this role, but sadly both passed on at an early age. We beg of you to make haste so that we can save the people while there is still time. The demon war is a great threat and we are doomed if we don't act. If you find such a priestess, send her to the temple of Kohito. Send minimal protection, so as to not call attention."

Lord Satoru stopped reading, folded the letter and looked at Kaname. She felt the blood draining from her face as she thought about what she had just heard.

"And my lord and lady think I fit that description?" she squeaked out. Lord Satoru nodded at her and the head priestess smiled. Kaname felt sick. "It's impossible." she said "I'm not even close to lady Kikio. I don't have that much power. I would have noticed if I did. Then I would have been able to kill that demon myself."

"Not really child." the head priestess answered calmly "You haven't been taught to use your power in that way. There was never a need to and I now regret not sending you to learn. But it doesn't matter now. If you can reach the temple the monks will teach you everything you need to know."

"But I have no resolve!" Kaname said fearfully "I cannot serve the way they want me to. I don't want to go. What if I'm not the priestess they're looking for."

The head priestess had never seen the girl so frightened before. She didn't believe in herself the way the head priestess had thought and she needed motivation.

"I know that you are frightened Kaname. But I believe in you." She said calmly "You have more power packed into your spirit than you know. Ever since you came to our temple, I knew you would become a great priestess. You do have the power and I know you can find resolve."

It was hard for Kaname not to believe the head priestess when she looked so convinced. But she just wasn't sure she had what it takes. She was scared.

The head priestess was like a mother to her. When her real mother died giving birth to her at the temple, the head priestess took her in and raised her. She had always been a priestess.

She knew she believed. She had never doubted the great goddess before. She had been her guiding light since birth. She loved the goddess.

She had knowledge and faith, so what was stealing her resolve?

Then she remembered Nori's smiling face. He was a soldier and therefore had to fight demons to protect the people. Wasn't it selfish of her to refuse to contribute by doing the one thing she could. Worst case scenario: she would make it there, they would say how unfit she was and then send her away.

She felt resolve finally bubble up inside her and she knew the head priestess could see it, because she smiled at her.

Before she lost her confidence Kaname blurted out the words: "If my lord and lady think I am fit, I will gladly make the journey."

**_That's the first chapter folks. Please excuse minor errors as English isn't my first language and I can't (for the death of me) spell right. Sorry if this was a little boring, but I promise it'll get better. Please review and tell me how I can make it better. _**


End file.
